IDESS in Wallonia

An IDESS (Employment development initiative in the informal care for social purposes sector) is a structure that offers informal care, mainly to the underprivileged. Their objective is to meet needs that are too small to interest conventional companies.

Discover the list of IDESS in Wallonia, the services they offer and their access conditions.

Download the list of IDESS

IDESS - October 2025

What kind of work does an IDESS do?

Small maintenance, repair and home development work

The following is a non-exhaustive list of authorised and unauthorised minor maintenance, repair and development work:

Authorised activities	Unauthorised activities
Joinery Repairing or reattaching a detached handrail Repairing a stair tread Replacing part of the floor Repairing a door bottom Planing a door that sticks Repairing an undercarriage Planing a jammed frame Repairing a jammed shutter Repairing baseboards	Installing a new staircase (even a miller's ladder) Laying a new floor Replacing a door bottom Replacing an undercarriage Installing a new shutter
Electricity Replacing a bulb Replacing a switch Adding a socket Replacing fuses Hanging a chandelier or sconce Repairing a doorbell or entry phone	Placing a new installation in a room Recessing part of the electrical installation Installing an entry phone
Toilets Replacing a seal or valve head Replacing a tap Replacing a siphon Descaling taps Re-fixing a toilet or toilet board Unclogging a sink, washbasin, shower or toilet Repairing seals Bleeding radiators	Replacing water supply and drainage systems Descaling a water heater Installing a new shower or bathtub Maintaining a boiler
Kitchen Installing an appliance Connecting to a drain Repairing a hood
Finishes Gluing or replacing a wallpaper strip Repairing paint work Painting a door, frame, wall, skirting board or piece of furniture Replacing a piece of fixed carpet or vinyl Replacing a small area of damaged ceiling Replacing a few broken or revealed tiles Installing curtains and picture frames	Redecorating or repainting an entire room Repairing the chassis of an entire room Placing, sanding and oiling a floor Replacing fixed carpet or vinyl in an entire room Levelling off an entire room Tiling an entire wall
Insulation Insulating pipes Caulking a window	Insulating an entire room or attic
Outdoors Cleaning a courtyard or paving with a pressure washer Using an anti-moss product Recementing a damaged exterior wall base Strengthening a garden shed Installing bird shelters Placing wire mesh or bird nets	Paving an entire courtyard Building or installing a garden shed
Roofing Cleaning a cornice	Replacing a cornice Replacing or repairing a roof or frame Installing a Velux window or skylight
Other Fixing shelves Assembling or disassembling furniture Moving furniture inside the house Programming an electronic device	Sweeping a chimney

Exceptions for disaster areas

Following the floods in Wallonia in 2021, the federations InitiativES, Fédération des CPAS and Concertes called for IDESS to be allowed to provide more help in disaster areas. The idea is for recognised IDESSs to fully support disaster victims by carrying out the necessary work after disasters such as floods.
For disaster areas, the scope of small-scale work is extended to a whole room, or even a whole floor if it is entirely affected. Your priority is to work in the living areas most affected by the disaster.
Services remain limited in hours:

for the general public: 10 services of 4 hours maximum, per year and per customer;
for vulnerable groups: 75 hours of service maximum, per year and per customer.

Conditions of application for the exception:

Who can carry out the work?

Only IDESS recognised for "DIY" activities can carry out this work, even if they are not located in the disaster areas.

Where can the work take place?

Work can only be carried out in disaster areas. The customer may own or rent the premises.

How to prove that you have suffered a loss

The customer must prove that they have suffered a loss through a certificate or other proof (provided by the municipality, insurance company, etc.).

If the customer lives in a municipality that has been declared a disaster area with specific disaster zones, they must live in one of these zones to benefit from this more extensive work.

Deadline for completion:

Work can be carried out within two years of the disaster. This rule applies as soon as the Walloon Region recognises a disaster area (e.g. for the floods in July 2021, work could be carried out until July 2023).

Compliance with other obligations:

IDESS must comply with all other legal obligations relating to their activity.

The development and maintenance of green spaces

mowing the lawn,
trimming a hedge,
weeding around homes, yards and pavements,
digging a garden or vegetable patch,
cutting firewood,
collecting and disposing of rubbish, leaves and branches,
cleaning one or more graves,
clearing snow from pavements.

Social transport

Transporting people who are disadvantaged by their financial situation, age, lack of mobility or geographical location for a variety of everyday occasions such as:

shopping,
taking part in a get-together,
going to an administrative appointment,
looking for a job,
training,
etc.

Social laundry

Providing low-cost washing machines and detergents.

Social shops

Selling food products and basic necessities at a lower price than large retailers.

This service is intended for people in vulnerable situations.

Cleaning premises (for small ASBLs)

Cleaning the offices and infrastructure of small ASBLs.

What are the rates and limits applied to the services offered by IDESS?

The rates and limits of the services offered by IDESS depend on the type of service and the status of the beneficiary. Service limitations may include, for example, restrictions on the surface area of green spaces to be maintained or the maximum number of annual hours allocated to each type of service.

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